The multi-talented Gus Hines was a stage manager, set designer, and painter in the late nineteenth century who designed both fire engines for the annual firemen's day parades and then the earliest modern "floats" for the Order of Myths, Infant Mystics and Knights of Revelry.

It was Hines who brought carriage and fire engine decorating techniques to the mystic parading tradition, creating the concept of the "float," that is now an indespensible part of Mardi Gras itself.

Because of the work of Gus and Emile Hines, Mobile's mystic parades maintained a theatrical presentation and refined asthetic throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Hines were uniquely able to convey historical or literary themes, intended to educate and illuminate the public, with designs that were aesthetically appealling and exciting to witness.

Float design to recall Iberville's ship the Pelican. Designed for Infant Mystics

In 1870, Gus Hines lived on Delaware Street and Joe Cain lived on Augusta just a few blocks away.

This long-time Hines residence was also the Hines workshop toward the end of the century when Emile Hines began working alongside his father and eventually took over float designs for many of Mobile's mystic organizations.